Sayako frowned more than once during the explanation of the 'crime', notably at the parts that were unclear or unanswered, but at the end, she simply shook her head, then bowed it to the novelist. "W-Well, anyway, thank you for the game, Arthur."

Sakura stood up angrily. "Oh come on, you guys! He didn't steal anything, he just wanted to make a game out of the last stage of the banquet! He was going to give them back once people solved the mystery, yet you're all acting like he took them all for himself! Is this the thanks he gets for trying to let everyone have some fun and work together to solve something?"

Remeku sighed. She smiled over at Sakura. "your right, Sakura. I guess, he was making a fun game, but Sojiro is right, he should have talked to Jeremy first. I would have totally high fived him if I found out this was all just some game! I was only upset, because I felt like he did this just to play around with us like toys, but I guess I can let it go this time... but only this time! For the sake of me not exploding something else! Hehe..." Remeku clenched her right arm and nervously looked at her feet before walking away and on to the elevator.

"Everyone, you're free to leave. If you would like to join me for cookies and milk, please make your way to the dining hall and I'll be there shortly," Jay announced, pressing a button on the arm of his chair to dismiss the screen and lower the chairs Jeremy and he were in back to ground level.

"Remeku," Jay said as he began walking towards the Alchemist, "I know you didn't mean to, but you really helped us out-"

"U-Um, M-Mr. Slezak," Mikael asked, "M-May I?"

"Ah, sure. Go ahead," Jay said and turned around to talk to someone else.

"...Mr. Slezak, wait! I-I have s-something to s-say to you t-too..." Mikael called out.

Jay stopped and turned back, awaiting what Mikael had to say. "Please, no need for formality; just call me Jay!"

Jay reached over and ruffled Mikael's hair, commenting in a reassuring tone, "Hey, no problem! I think you're really helping Remeku out. She seems a little more outgoing since she made a friend like you."

"Aw, well keep workin' at it and you'll get there!" Jay cheered, patting Mikael on the back before actually walking away, smiling, towards the elevator.

"Y-Yeah...Yeah! R-Remmy!" Mikael said, turning towards the Alchemist again. "Would you like to j-j-join me and t-talk over milk and c-cookies?" Mikael asked, intending to walk towards the elevator as well.

As the students made their way up, Jay stayed close to Arthur and led him to his room. After Arthur unlocked the door, Jay opened it, headed inside, and retrieved the cookies and the milk from the table. Bolting out, leaving Arthur to lock the door, Jay made his way to the dining hall and placed the cookies and milk next to the remainder of Remeku's Rainbow Flower Pie. Jay chuckled at the thought of how Remeku had played a hand in creating both desserts.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a wonderful day.Credit to my niece for the original drawing of Mikael Stanza which I rendered to produce the avatar you now see!

Sojiro said nothing as he headed back to his room. What a day this turned out to be, indeed.

Sojiro walked back to his room. He open the door, and then entered his room. He then closed his door, making sure it was locked.

He sighed as he unbuttoned the cuffs on his shirt, then he rolled up his sleeves, exposing his red dragon tattoos.

"Inside my dorm room, I can have my tattoos visible. However, when I'm out and about, I'll have to keep my tattoos covered up." Sojiro told himself as he looks at his tattoos._______________________________________

Gary decided to head to the dining hall as he figured that everyone probably have dessert on their mind. He went to the dining hall, with dessert on his mind.

He looks over the rainbow pie and the cookies. Remembering what the cookies can do when they're wet, Gary decided to go for a slice of the rainbow pie. He'd prefers having his mouth be a normal color and he intends to keep it that way. He went over to a empty table so he can eat his pie.

"Everyone, you're free to leave. If you would like to join me for cookies and milk, please make your way to the dining hall and I'll be there shortly," Jay announced, pressing a button on the arm of his chair to dismiss the screen and lower the chairs Jeremy and he were in back to ground level.

"Remeku," Jay said as he began walking towards the Alchemist, "I know you didn't mean to, but you really helped us out-"

"U-Um, M-Mr. Slezak," Mikael asked, "M-May I?"

"Ah, sure. Go ahead," Jay said and turned around to talk to someone else.

"...Mr. Slezak, wait! I-I have s-something to s-say to you t-too..." Mikael called out.

Jay stopped and turned back, awaiting what Mikael had to say. "Please, no need for formality; just call me Jay!"

Jay reached over and ruffled Mikael's hair, commenting in a reassuring tone, "Hey, no problem! I think you're really helping Remeku out. She seems a little more outgoing since she made a friend like you."

"Aw, well keep workin' at it and you'll get there!" Jay cheered, patting Mikael on the back before actually walking away, smiling, towards the elevator.

"Y-Yeah...Yeah! R-Remmy!" Mikael said, turning towards the Alchemist again. "Would you like to j-j-join me and t-talk over milk and c-cookies?" Mikael asked, intending to walk towards the elevator as well.

As the students made their way up, Jay stayed close to Arthur and led him to his room. After Arthur unlocked the door, Jay opened it, headed inside, and retrieved the cookies and the milk from the table. Bolting out, leaving Arthur to lock the door, Jay made his way to the dining hall and placed the cookies and milk next to the remainder of Remeku's Rainbow Flower Pie. Jay chuckled at the thought of how Remeku had played a hand in creating both desserts.

Remeku looked over at Mikael as they walked to the elevator. "Oh, u-uh... of course M-M-Mikey! Oh.... uh... I wanted to give you s-s-s-something..." Remeku rubbed her arm before reaching into her potion bag and pulled out an odd stuffed animal that had a frilly dress and a sort of robotic face on it. The name, Mikey, was written nicely above the left eye of the creature. "This... w-w-was handmade b-b-by me... I thought you might like it... I kn-know... i-it's childish, b-but i tried.... I m-made it as unique as y-you are, Mikey..." Remeku said before handing him the stuffed animal. She scratched her head before looking in front of her about to say something. "It really isn't normal for me to be so confident in something like that.... b-but, I wanted to find a way to help everyone some how, even if it was just about some dumb cookies... I'm just happy that I actually have friends now instead of being a-alone... ya' know. Even though it's weird to thank someone for being their friend, I'm going to do it anyway..." Remeku slowly gave Mikael a small hug. "Thank you, Mikey. Thank you for being my friend..." Remeku smiled before letting go.

Sakura stood up angrily. "Oh come on, you guys! He didn't steal anything, he just wanted to make a game out of the last stage of the banquet! He was going to give them back once people solved the mystery, yet you're all acting like he took them all for himself! Is this the thanks he gets for trying to let everyone have some fun and work together to solve something?"

"Thanks..." said Arthur, still looking a bit deflated.

Franzise Deauxnim wrote:

Sayako frowned more than once during the explanation of the 'crime', notably at the parts that were unclear or unanswered, but at the end, she simply shook her head, then bowed it to the novelist. "W-Well, anyway, thank you for the game, Arthur."

"You're welcome." said Arthur uncertainly. "Sorry for being more trouble than it was worth."

"Oh, not me, Bud; my brother," Jay corrected, pointing towards Jeremy, sitting at a table typing away on a laptop. "I guess he has something for you for being such a big help in the trial. I have to say, it sure is a satisfying feeling coming up with actually working theories for a mystery, haha." Jay sounded like he knew what he was talking about as he gestured Bud to go talk to Jeremy.

---

MC_Kitten wrote:

Remeku looked over at Mikael as they walked to the elevator. "Oh, u-uh... of course M-M-Mikey! Oh.... uh... I wanted to give you s-s-s-something..." Remeku rubbed her arm before reaching into her potion bag and pulled out an odd stuffed animal that had a frilly dress and a sort of robotic face on it. The name, Mikey, was written nicely above the left eye of the creature. "This... w-w-was handmade b-b-by me... I thought you might like it... I kn-know... i-it's childish, b-but i tried.... I m-made it as unique as y-you are, Mikey..." Remeku said before handing him the stuffed animal. She scratched her head before looking in front of her about to say something. "It really isn't normal for me to be so confident in something like that.... b-but, I wanted to find a way to help everyone some how, even if it was just about some dumb cookies... I'm just happy that I actually have friends now instead of being a-alone... ya' know. Even though it's weird to thank someone for being their friend, I'm going to do it anyway..." Remeku slowly gave Mikael a small hug. "Thank you, Mikey. Thank you for being my friend..." Remeku smiled before letting go.

"A-A-A-Ah...y-y-you made th-th-this? I-I-It's f-fantastic!" Mikael complimented, suddenly feeling a bit unsteady as he was given the hand-crafted creation and then hugged, returning the gesture immediately by wrapping his arms around her for a few seconds, quite unlike his usual behavior in social situations. "I-I-I d-don't know w-w-what to sa-" he began. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a different voice spoke up. It was cheerful and quite cutesy. "Don't worry Mikey! I...um, what's my name? Puffball? No, too on-the-nose...how 'bout Puffy? Cotton? Now that'd be a bold move...uh, let's think about it later! Anyway, as a symbol of your friendship, I'm so glad to be here!" Mikael laughed nervously and explained, "I-I-I do a l-lot better w-with sp-speech when I'm v-voice acting. Wh-What did y-you th-think? I-I-I hope you liked it." He held the stuffed animal close as he finally boarded the elevator.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a wonderful day.Credit to my niece for the original drawing of Mikael Stanza which I rendered to produce the avatar you now see!

Rutake smiled seeing the cookies and milk back where they belonged. "T-that was pretty tiring…I'll just go rest in my room now, if you don't mind." He left the dining hall.As he left, Sophia entered the dining hall. "Oh, wow! Have the cookies already been returned? That's nice. Who was the thief, exactly?"At the same time, a very disgruntled Janis entered the dining hall. Her dress was covered with more stains than before, suggesting that she had been cleaning some other parts of the school. She noticed the milk and cookies on the table, and her eyes widened. She walked to the table, picking one up. "These are all for me, huh? Nice to see that someone around here appreciates me, at least.", she said, helping herself to far more than just one cookie.

"A-A-A-Ah...y-y-you made th-th-this? I-I-It's f-fantastic!" Mikael complimented, suddenly feeling a bit unsteady as he was given the hand-crafted creation and then hugged, returning the gesture immediately by wrapping his arms around her for a few seconds, quite unlike his usual behavior in social situations. "I-I-I d-don't know w-w-what to sa-" he began. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a different voice spoke up. It was cheerful and quite cutesy. "Don't worry Mikey! I...um, what's my name? Puffball? No, too on-the-nose...how 'bout Puffy? Cotton? Now that'd be a bold move...uh, let's think about it later! Anyway, as a symbol of your friendship, I'm so glad to be here!" Mikael laughed nervously and explained, "I-I-I do a l-lot better w-with sp-speech when I'm v-voice acting. Wh-What did y-you th-think? I-I-I hope you liked it." He held the stuffed animal close as he finally boarded the elevator.

Remeku stared at Mikael then nervously looked at the stuffed animal like it was actually alive. "U-uh... Oh, ah, that was really good!" She calmed down a bit. "It's nice to hearThe Great Ultimate Voice Actordoing what he normally does..." Remeku said pondering a little bit. She then came across something that she really wanted to know. "Hay, Mikey? Do you think you could do an impression of me? That would be so cool!" Remeku's eyes gleamed. She was exited like a little child. She needed to know how amazing this Ultimate Voice Actor really was.

"Ah, Mr. Lau. What is 'up' is my respect for you. You did great work in the trial, presenting some of the best theories and suggesting the very thing which led us right to the culprit. So I have this for you. Please place it in your room somewhere or keep it with you, whatever you wish to do with it," Jeremy explained, pulling out a gold-colored star-shaped fabric patch with the words 'CLASS TRIAL MVP' embroidered onto it and holding it out for the Senator to take.

---

Jay thought about telling Janis what the cookies were really about, he really did, but eh. Let her find out what's 'special' about them on her own. He thought this as he helped himself to a piece of Remeku's Rainbow Pie, curious how it tasted before eating the cookies, which would make everything taste sweeter. He poured himself a glass of milk and took a couple cookies for after the pie, then went to find a place to sit.

---

"A-Ah! Y-Y-You w-want m-me to d-do your v-v-voice, Re-Remmy? A-Alright, I'll d-do my b-best," Mikael stated before holding Remeku's gift up to his cheek, squeezing it, and closing his eyes tightly, trying to build up some courage. He opened his eyes again and recited, "O-Oh, hey there. My name is Remeku Lata and I am the Ultimate Alchemist! I-If my personality doesn't make the world shine brighter, then my potions will!" He even pantomimed some of the gestures he saw her do before in an attempt to get into character. Still feeling somewhat confident, Mikael asked, "So, what did you th-think?" He realized he was asking the stuffed toy as if it would respond, so he quickly flicked his glance back to Remeku and smiled, awaiting her reaction.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a wonderful day.Credit to my niece for the original drawing of Mikael Stanza which I rendered to produce the avatar you now see!

"A-Ah! Y-Y-You w-want m-me to d-do your v-v-voice, Re-Remmy? A-Alright, I'll d-do my b-best," Mikael stated before holding Remeku's gift up to his cheek, squeezing it, and closing his eyes tightly, trying to build up some courage. He opened his eyes again and recited, "O-Oh, hey there. My name is Remeku Lata and I am the Ultimate Alchemist! I-If my personality doesn't make the world shine brighter, then my potions will!" He even pantomimed some of the gestures he saw her do before in an attempt to get into character. Still feeling somewhat confident, Mikael asked, "So, what did you th-think?" He realized he was asking the stuffed toy as if it would respond, so he quickly flicked his glance back to Remeku and smiled, awaiting her reaction.

Remeku blushed at the actual good impression of her. She rubbed her arm and looked down at her feet. "Oh, uh, yeah... I could even say you were my twin. Thanks Mikey... I-I d-d-didn't know you could have that h-h-h-high of a voice... I'm a b-b-b-bit surprised. Ehhh...." Remeku dozed off for a minute before looking at Mikael. "Oh, ah, sorry! I was just really amazed how you were able to do do my voice. W-wow you really arethe great powerful ultimate voice actorhaha..." Remeku smiled at Mikael as she slowly skipped alongside him on the way to the dinning hall.

Sakura stood up angrily. "Oh come on, you guys! He didn't steal anything, he just wanted to make a game out of the last stage of the banquet! He was going to give them back once people solved the mystery, yet you're all acting like he took them all for himself! Is this the thanks he gets for trying to let everyone have some fun and work together to solve something?"

"Thanks..." said Arthur, still looking a bit deflated.

Franzise Deauxnim wrote:

Sayako frowned more than once during the explanation of the 'crime', notably at the parts that were unclear or unanswered, but at the end, she simply shook her head, then bowed it to the novelist. "W-Well, anyway, thank you for the game, Arthur."

"You're welcome." said Arthur uncertainly. "Sorry for being more trouble than it was worth."

"Ah, no, please don't say that!" she replied. "It's like Felicity said; it made the day interesting! Um, do you want to go have some more now that everything's been resolved? You said they were quite good, yes? Er, I'm not sure how I feel about them turning the inside of my mouth green, but it shouldn't be permanent, right? Some of the coloring did come off on the napkin, so I'd think brushing afterwards should get rid of the dye..." Sayako continued rambling half to herself.

Kirimi, yes he still exists, smiled surprisingly at the thought of his own sister making something that solved a case. He happily jumped over to Remeku and tapped her shoulder.

"You did awesome out there! I can still remember when you were younger and you were isolated from the world, but look at you now! I told you this school would help with, you know what..." Kirimi looked at Remeku's arms as he said that.

"Don't tell me your still-...." Kirimi took Remeku's arms and pulled down the sleeves. Her arms where scared with cut marks from a long time ago, and then he saw a cut on her hand that looked, new. "Rem Rem..."

Remeku pulled her arms away and put the sleeves back down as she looked over at Mikael, to see if he noticed. "I-I'm sorry, Kirimi... I just... couldn't help it... it's like it's my nature..." Remeku looked down at her feet.

"Rem Rem, I thought that you were done with that, please don't let the madness take over you... you only have one life, and when that's over.... you can't live another..." Kirimi looked down.

"I can't help but be friends with the darkness, because it was always there when no one else was... you don't understand, Kirimi... It's hard not to do something that you use to do all the time... It's so hard. It's like I can't control myself when it happens..." Remeku smiled at Kirimi falsely.

Remeku grabbed Mikael's hand and ran to the dinning hall before letting go. She didn't want Mikael to hear anymore of her past.

"I am elated to hear your approval, Senator Lau," Jeremy responded, "You are proof that a book should not be judged by its cover, eheh." Jeremy's tentative chuckle made it seem like he wasn't confident in the metaphor. "That is all, unless you have something you wish to ask of me." Jeremy waited for a response, hands still poised over the keyboard of his laptop.

---

Jay walked towards where Arthur, Felicity, and Sayako were talking. "Ah, Arthur! Your mouth!" Jay called out as he noticed the coloring had significantly faded. "Looks like...at least the potion's side-effect is pretty short-lasting." Jay laughed as he began to wonder if the chocolate-tasting effect was as temporary. "I agree with Felicity and Sayako. It seemed like you were always planning on returning the cookies and you did make it interesting for sure. That's why there's no way I can be mad at you. I hope others feel the same."

Turning to Felicity, Jay asked in a somewhat timid voice, "Um, Felicity, would you like to sit and catch up over dessert with me?"

---

MC_Kitten wrote:

Remeku blushed at the actual good impression of her. She rubbed her arm and looked down at her feet. "Oh, uh, yeah... I could even say you were my twin. Thanks Mikey... I-I d-d-didn't know you could have that h-h-h-high of a voice... I'm a b-b-b-bit surprised. Ehhh...." Remeku dozed off for a minute before looking at Mikael. "Oh, ah, sorry! I was just really amazed how you were able to do do my voice. W-wow you really arethe great powerful ultimate voice actorhaha..." Remeku smiled at Mikael as she slowly skipped alongside him on the way to the dinning hall.

"Ahaha...Remmy...!" Mikael chuckled and spoke in slight embarrassment after the compliment, glancing away for a brief moment, "Really, tw-twin though? There's n-no way I could b-be your twin. I'm just a voice actor... It's not p-powerful at all. It's j-just what I-I do." Even so, Mikael smiled hopefully as Remeku skipped beside him as he walked.

And then Kirimi came up and began talking to Remeku about something which sounded quite personal. Almost immediately wanting to jump to her defense, Mikael began to plead, "A-Ah, Mr. Lata, p-please don-" and then stopped and sighed. Why did he want to do that? He simply stood by and observed. The revelation of Remeku's scars and new cut shocked him. Finding the scene quite unnerving, he turned away, unable to quite find the words. "I-I-I...um...n-need a m-moment to p-p-process th-this. I-I'm f-feeling a b-bit o-o-o-overwh-whelmed a-all of a s-sudden."

'What am I even doing getting involved?' Mikael wondered to himself as he sat down on the floor against a nearby wall, 'I only just met her earlier today anyway. It's not like I could change anything even if I wanted to...not yet, at least.' Mikael clutched the present from Remeku against his chest, perhaps wishing it could lend him a bit of strength to confront this situation. However, as quickly as it started, the situation seemed to end as Mikael felt himself being pulled upward by Remeku and nearly dragged along the rest of the way toward the dining hall. "A-Ah wait! Re-Remmy...your hand! D-Doesn't it need b-bandaged or an-anything?" Making one new friend ended up being rather high-maintenance. How in the world was he going to be able to make more than that at this rate?

Mikael froze and remained silent, having no clue where to even start. Apparently, literally being dragged into a situation doesn't help your ability to explain things. He wanted to say 'nothing' or 'I don't know'--that'd be something to work with at least, but alas Mikael's mind was completely blank.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a wonderful day.Credit to my niece for the original drawing of Mikael Stanza which I rendered to produce the avatar you now see!

Lida had watched the trial and saw . . . cause for concern. She hadn't spoken from her spectator seat, but the whole place was just so . . . intense. Over cookies? She couldn't help but feel it was all disproportionate. And then some behaviors of the students were concerning, too. She sighed to herself. She couldn't act rattled. Until she was given express permission to give her impressions of the trial, she would stay silent.

She had no appetite, lost in thoughts as she was. She wasn't even aware she was sitting down in the dining hall. Remeku's running into the room snapped her out of her reverie and she approached Jay as he asked what was wrong.

"Ahem. Jay? Perhaps it would be best not to try to have them discuss it here where any random person could overhear? I think it's likely that they came to such a public place to avoid talking about it for now. And maybe grab some more food." She offered Remeku and Mikael a smile. "If either of you wish to discuss anything with me, I will be in my office shortly. But in the meantime, if you have to excuse yourself to get something to eat or socialize with others, I'll understand. I shouldn't presume to speak for someone else, though." She gave Jay a look that read, "Yes, this is concerning, but for right now, we ought to let them go." She has very expressive eyes.

After Lida's explanation, Jay couldn't help feeling a little ashamed. "Oh. Y-You're right. This wouldn't be the proper situation to discuss things like that. I guess...I was just too eager to help." Jay sighed and stared down at the plate he was holding, becoming lost in thought. Even with Lida's incredibly expressive eyes, Jay couldn't really read them.

---

Mikael glanced at Remeku, then to Lida, and back to Remeku. Once again he wanted to say something but found himself unable to. He wished the stuffed toy he was holding was larger so he could hide behind it. In his scattered thoughts though, he managed to make a mental note to take Lida up on the offer to visit her office later.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a wonderful day.Credit to my niece for the original drawing of Mikael Stanza which I rendered to produce the avatar you now see!

"Hey, it is perfectly okay. I understand wanting to help. I wouldn't be a school counselor if I didn't want to help others for the rest of my life," Lida said with a smile, though she wasn't sure if Jay was listening now. He seemed to be staring off into space. She hadn't really meant to upset him. She thought she was being gentle. "Um . . . I apologize for my manner. I think I've done enough damage for now. So, uh . . . E-excuse me, please."

And she walked away.

Meanwhile, Jeremy and Jay's E-handbooks vibrated, signalling they each got a message from Austin. It was very vague and cryptic. Something about gathering everyone tomorrow . . . .

Remeku blushed at the actual good impression of her. She rubbed her arm and looked down at her feet. "Oh, uh, yeah... I could even say you were my twin. Thanks Mikey... I-I d-d-didn't know you could have that h-h-h-high of a voice... I'm a b-b-b-bit surprised. Ehhh...." Remeku dozed off for a minute before looking at Mikael. "Oh, ah, sorry! I was just really amazed how you were able to do do my voice. W-wow you really arethe great powerful ultimate voice actorhaha..." Remeku smiled at Mikael as she slowly skipped alongside him on the way to the dinning hall.

"Ahaha...Remmy...!" Mikael chuckled and spoke in slight embarrassment after the compliment, glancing away for a brief moment, "Really, tw-twin though? There's n-no way I could b-be your twin. I'm just a voice actor... It's not p-powerful at all. It's j-just what I-I do." Even so, Mikael smiled hopefully as Remeku skipped beside him as he walked.

And then Kirimi came up and began talking to Remeku about something which sounded quite personal. Almost immediately wanting to jump to her defense, Mikael began to plead, "A-Ah, Mr. Lata, p-please don-" and then stopped and sighed. Why did he want to do that? He simply stood by and observed. The revelation of Remeku's scars and new cut shocked him. Finding the scene quite unnerving, he turned away, unable to quite find the words. "I-I-I...um...n-need a m-moment to p-p-process th-this. I-I'm f-feeling a b-bit o-o-o-overwh-whelmed a-all of a s-sudden."

'What am I even doing getting involved?' Mikael wondered to himself as he sat down on the floor against a nearby wall, 'I only just met her earlier today anyway. It's not like I could change anything even if I wanted to...not yet, at least.' Mikael clutched the present from Remeku against his chest, perhaps wishing it could lend him a bit of strength to confront this situation. However, as quickly as it started, the situation seemed to end as Mikael felt himself being pulled upward by Remeku and nearly dragged along the rest of the way toward the dining hall. "A-Ah wait! Re-Remmy...your hand! D-Doesn't it need b-bandaged or an-anything?" Making one new friend ended up being rather high-maintenance. How in the world was he going to be able to make more than that at this rate?

Mikael froze and remained silent, having no clue where to even start. Apparently, literally being dragged into a situation doesn't help your ability to explain things. He wanted to say 'nothing' or 'I don't know'--that'd be something to work with at least, but alas Mikael's mind was completely blank.

Remeku looked down at her feet. That was the first time in her life that she wanted to smack her brother. He said too much. She didn't want Mikael to know anything about what she did in the past, but it was too late now. She smiled sadly at Mikael. "Th-their nothing, Mikey! These scars w-were just from an accident a l-long time a-ago!" She lied. "A-and... I m-mean... you.... only.... just....met..... m-..." Remeku clenched her arm. She needed to stop lying. She tried her best to think a way out of this but she came up with a blank head. She started to cry. "It's the only w-w-way I can e-escape th-this horrible world that I l-live in! I-I had n-no one backthen a-after y-..." Remeku didn't say anything else and dashed out of the room, running to her dorm room.

"W-Wait! Lida, come back! I didn't me-" Jay began to call out as the counselor started to walk away. But then he overheard Remeku becoming increasingly emotional, but she ran off before Jay could think of what to do.

"R-Re-" Mikael stammered as Remeku ran out of the room. After the last two things she said, Mikael's thoughts were jumbled between 'Where is this coming from?' and 'What am I supposed to do?' Mikael felt lightheaded and began to feel himself falling as he crumpled to the floor, burying his face in the stuffed toy he was holding.

"Oh no, oh no!" Jay said under his breath as he took a step towards the poor boy. Then he felt a buzzing in his pocket, which distracted him enough to allow him to realize what he was doing and freeze in place. "I-I was about to do it again, wasn't I...?" he asked himself before letting out a frustrated, "What the hell!?" clapping his free hand to his mouth afterward.

This got Jeremy's attention, who had been reading the message. Standing up and forgoing his laptop for the moment, he rushed over to Jay and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Jay! P-Please do not get so worked up. We do not have to try to do this alone. Not anymore." Jeremy gestured towards Lida, insinuating the extra staff he'd hired. "Oh, and that was Austin. He has something to show us tomorrow. This...will probably diffuse on its own."

"I-I-I..." Seeing the blue-haired boy balled up on the floor pained Jay, but he gulped back his emotions and tried his best to calm down. He sighed and gave his brother a faint smile, tension seeming to have been relieved, replying with a barely-audible "Th-Thank you."

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a wonderful day.Credit to my niece for the original drawing of Mikael Stanza which I rendered to produce the avatar you now see!

Kirimi had a look of shock. He had just put his own sister in pain more than she already was. He sighed sadly as he looked over at the blue-haired boy who seemed to be upset. He walked over to him cautiously. "I'm sorry, um, Mikael, was it? I didn't mean for that to happen, I just was worried about her and I guess I went to far... um, but there is no need getting so emotional... to be honest, as her own brother, I could never tell how she was feeling sometimes. She would be sad, angry, upset, worried, and other things that I can't understand. There is nothing that you should be worried about. Not even I can help her. I have tried, by getting her into this school, but she still doesn't seem happy. It's nice that she made a friend though... that will help her a lot..." Kirimi explained trying to reason with the boy. He then trailed off as he then looked at Mikael closer. "You do look quite familiar though... hmmm...." Kirimi then went in deep thought as he patted Mikael on the head and stood up and walked away.

-----

Lumica was very quite for a while. She was trying to process everything that was going on. She then saw Remeku run out of the room in tears. She jumped up and suddenly went into protective mode. "A-ah!? La La! W-where are you going!? K-Kirimi?! What's going on!?" Lumica was in panic as she suddenly ran after Remeku not giving Kirimi a chance to answer.

Lida had began to step away, but then with Remeku's outburst and Mikael's meltdown, of course she didn't get far before coming right back.

"Right. This is my job. I know what I'm doing," she said confidently to Jay and Jeremy, though she actually didn't know where to start. Until Kirimi spoke up.

"Mr. Lata," Lida began in a gentle lecture tone. "Please don't tell anyone there is no need to get so emotional. Over anything. You may come see me in my office later, but for now, I would appreciate it if you would --"

Kirimi patted Mikael's head and walked away.

". . . That . . . works . . . ?"

And then Lumica ran off, too. It was all getting out of hand really quickly. At least Lida could try to help Mikael now. Lida knelt down in front of the blue-haired boy and offered a hand.

"May I help you up? I'm sorry. I'm sure you'd prefer to be alone right now, but to get you somewhere away from all of this commotion, I'm going to need you to take my hand. Is that alright?"

Kirimi looked over at Lida as he scratched his head. "Oh, ah, I-I'm sorry... I should have been more careful, I am their teacher after all..." Kirimi then started biting his nails, worried about his sister. He was in the feeling of either, giving her place, or checking on her along with Lumica. Even if he were to do something, it would probably lead to more chaos, so he just stood there.

----

Lumica was at Remeku's door. She took a deep breath and rang the buzzer. "La La, please c-come out... Lu Lu want's to talk to you..." Lumica said in 3rd person. She stared at the door waiting for a response but there was only silents. She took a minute before ringing it again. "Hay, I know that a lot has been going on lately... nut you know, I'm always here for you... always..." Lumica said softly as she looked at her feet. She could here a small sniffle from the other side of the door before it slowly opened.

"Lu...L-Lu? A-are y-you here t-t-to tell me h-how much of a f-fool I am...?" Remeku's voice was soft and shivering.

"N-no! I'm here to tell you everything is okay! But... M-Mikael.... seems to be a little on-the-edge right now..."

"O-oh... it's a-all m-my f-fault for being s-such a self-centered j-jerk.... He d-doesn't have to worry... a-about m-me... I'm n-n-not worth it..." Remeku said faintly as she closed the door softly.

"L-La La! It's n-not y-your-...!" Lumica gave up. She went back into the dinning hall. "I think I made it worse... I'm sorry to you all... specifically you... Mikael..." Lumica looked over at the boy who was slumped up against the wall and frowned.

Mikael looked up at Lida as she spoke. Very quietly, he responded, "N-No...I d-don't want to b-be a-alone...I w-want to b-be s-someone else...Ah! N-No, I-I m-m-mean...b-be with someone else. S-Sorry, I-I'm just c-confused right now." He reached out and grasped Lida's hand to let her help him up. "Th-Thanks for the help, Ms. O'Connor. I-I'll come see you s-sometime s-soon." Mikael tried his best to smile for Lida, but his eyes still looked a bit sad. It's clear what Remeku had said really stuck with him.

Turning to Lumica, Mikael opened his mouth to speak. He wanted to say something to her like, 'don't worry about it' or 'you did nothing wrong' but the words wouldn't come out.

---

"You know what I believe everyone could use? An escape. I am confident that tomorrow things will begn to improve," Jeremy announced, having completed his tasks with the laptop and begun packing it away.

"Y-Yes! I'm sure everyone will find the help they need. We've had quite the day already so I think everyone's kinda...spent. That must be it!" Jay declared.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a wonderful day.Credit to my niece for the original drawing of Mikael Stanza which I rendered to produce the avatar you now see!

Lida pretended not hear Mikaels slip of the tongue as she helped him up. She focused her attention on Lmica first, offering her an encouraging smile.

"It's okay. You tried. We will sort this out. It'll be okay."

She then turned her attention to Mikael.

"I'm not sure anyone could be good company at the moment. I think we all need to take some time to decompress now, though I admit that I would like it if someone could check on Remeku. She seems to need a healthy escape the most right now."

Her brows furrowed.

"Will you be okay to walk to your dorm room or do you need an escort? Perhaps I could bring you there and then check on Remeku. Perhaps the both of you should see me together later." It was certainly unorthodox to do group therapy sessions, but it seemed there was call for it in this case.

Avatar by BSX.

Last edited by Lida_Rose on Tue Jan 23, 2018 3:49 am, edited 1 time in total.

Remeku walked around and around her room trying to think about what to do.

flashback

"Oh! R-Rem...I mean Miss Lata!" Mikael called, seeing the Alchemist was now unoccupied, approaching her, "A-About that sidekick idea..." Mikael began to ponder and fell silent for an abnormally long time. After about thirty seconds, he finally spoke up again, "Ah! Um...sure! I'd love to be your friend." He extended his hand for a handshake, though it was already slightly shaking due to nervousness.

Reality

Great, there it goes again, thinking about Mikael is the only thing Remeku can do. This stupid brain won't calm down! Ugh....! I need to stop thinking about that! It won't go away! Remeku was clenching her head in stress. Mikael was a reminder to her of how dumb she was. She laid in her bed and curled into a ball. Maybe trying to imagine that she was her favorite anime character, Inuyasha, would help ease her mind.

"I-I don't need an e-escort," Mikael answered as he dusted himself off, holding the stuffed toy under his left arm, "B-But would y-you c-come along with m-me anyway? I g-get kinda n-n-nervous when I'm a-alone outside m-my r-room." Mikael wouldn't normally reveal something like that, but could it be that the counselor's charm was making him calmer? Unfortunately, the calmness didn't do much to help his stuttering. He hoped it was just first-day jitters. As he was led out, he glanced back over the few remaining people in the dining hall as if to say 'goodbye'.

---

After everyone finished up dessert, the brothers took to putting away what little remained of it. They then began making their way back towards their dorm rooms, saying goodnight to anyone they encountered along the way.

---

*Ding dong, bing bong!*"Attention Students, As nighttime falls here at the Academy, let me just congratulate everyone on an exciting first day of the semester! I do hope this is a sign of things to come. Now, please get plenty of rest. We have yet another event planned to begin tomorrow. That is all! Good night!"

Spoiler: Slezak Theater, Ep. 001

"Y'know what I love about fiction?""It can take us to places we couldn't even imagine.""Allow us to experience things we could only dream of.""And because other people are writing it...it exposes us to ideas we never would've thought.""Indeed. Though, nonfiction can open your mind to new ideas as well. There is nothing quite like an inspirational true story.""Mhm...but how 'bout taking that inspirational story and setting it in a world full of dragons!!!""W-Well, it would certainly make it more...exciting, I suppose.""Though it might dampen the moral impact of the story quite a bit.""Hm, you're right. That's why I love the diversity of stories both real and imagined!""Hmhmhm. I believe that is all the time we have for tonight.""I see, I see. Well, good night everyone! Thanks for dreamin' about us!"

---

The next day...

» E V E N T . S T A R T »Chapter 2 // Introduction

*Ding dong, bing bong!*"Gooooood morning, Students! The sun rises on a new day! And today's a particularly special one. One of our students has reached a point in a project he's been working on for a loooooong time where he can show us his progress! So, after breakfast, please make your way to Computer Lab 2 in the Research wing if you're interested in seeing what he's done!"

Within the next hour or so, a crowd of students has gathered outside the specified room, chit-chatting away about random things including what this project could be, why everyone was expected to gather at once, and how good those omelettes were this morning, am I right?

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a wonderful day.Credit to my niece for the original drawing of Mikael Stanza which I rendered to produce the avatar you now see!

She hadn't slept particularly well that night, and was still sleepy when eating breakfast. She had walked toward Computer Lab 2 without question, but she didn't engage in conversation really. She would be more talkative after she had woken up a bit more. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what all of this was about.

Little did she know, but Jay and Jeremy already knew, that there was already someone inside Computer Lab 2. And he gulped, seeing the large crowd gathered outside.

Cat patted Austin's shoulder.

"It's okay, Austin. I'm right here."

"I-I . . . I-I-I kn-know. Th-th-thanks, M-M . . . M-M-Mom . . . ." Austin forced a smile and signalled Cat, who opened the door and then wheeled him out in front of the students and faculty. He and Cat both still had dark circles under their eyes, and Austin was shaking slightly. Still, he had smiled and waved to get people's attention.

He bit his lip. His hands were shaking quite violently. It was getting a little hard to breathe. Cat put a hand Austin's shoulder and he started before looking up and making himself smile at her. Then he smiled to the group once more.

Cat wheeled Austin into the room and away from the others, leaving plenty of room. In Computer Lab 2, there were computers and chairs, but also around the edges of the room were comfortable looking couches and armchairs. Austin waited for everyone who wished to come in to enter and be given their headgear before continuing. The headgear looked like helmets with visors. They seemed a bit big for everyone's heads, though they were very soft on the inside.

Austin put on his headgear and then didn't move. Cat wheeled him to the nearest couch, lifted her son, and placed him on it so he was lying down.

"There. That looks more comfortable," she said, panting from the effort of lifting Austin. She made sure everyone knew how to put on their headgear before sitting on one of the armchairs and putting her own on.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

All those who put on their headgear would find themselves on the top of a grassy hill, looking out at the world. There were giant mountains out in the distance and flowers not too far from where the group spawned. The sky was clear as the sun shone down on them.

The world felt so open and vast. Trees scattered around and grouped together to make dense-looking forests. There was smoke in the distance, presumably coming from a town or a city. And there were noises of birds chirping and bees buzzing and squirrels having loud arguments, presumably over acorns.

Austin waited for everyone who was entering his world to do so, then spoke in a loud, clear voice.

"Alright, everyone. Please listen up. This world has not been finished yet. Bur I can alter the code of this world to make anything you'd like, or to make you anything you'd like. For example, Mom . . . You have always told me you wished you had more feline features."

Cat had been staring at this world in amazement and blinked as she realized she was being addressed.

"Oh. Y-yes. Austin . . . you really made all of this?"

"I did. Here . . . let me make you more feline."

Austin pulled up a blue, translucent screen and began typing on a keyboard no one else could see. And then Cat's appearance changed. She wore a floofy pink dress with red ribbons, the kind that Austin knew she always wished she could afford, and her eyes became bigger. She grew cat ears out of her brown hair and had a cat tail poking out of a very small slit in the back of her dress. Cat stared down at her dress and gaped.

"A-Austin . . . ."

"Just wait until you see yourself in the lake, Mom. You look exactly like how you always told me you wished you did. I call this hybrid of cat and human Kittykin." He gave Cat a huge smile.

Cat teared up.

"I still can't believe you made all of this."

Austin then addressed everyone else.

"And I can do similar for the rest of you, and for this world. If you have any requests, please say so!"

Sakura was a little apprehensive about putting on the headgear, but, always willing to try something new, complied quite quickly in the end.

Now in the virtual world, her breath was taken away as she took in the beautiful landscape around her. Exotic locations were nothing new, thanks to the strange transportation systems Hope's Peak offered, but this was something else. And not only did everything look so real, it felt it too - the grass beneath her feet, the wind (strong atop this hill) blowing against her cheeks. Running over to the patch of nearby flowers and picking one, she was delighted by the fragrant scent it gave off and ran back to show Sayako.

Fully caught up in her wonder, for now her attention was diverted from Austin and his offer to modify appearances.

Last edited by KamiPanda on Wed Jan 24, 2018 11:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

Having taken the headgear that he was given, Gary went over to one of the armchairs and sat down on it. Then, as instructed, Gary puts on his headgear.

One moment, Gary was in the Computer Lab 2 at Hope's Peak Academy, and then the next moment, he's in a virtual world, one that was designed by Austin.

Gary was amazed by the world that stands before his own eyes. It felt so real, like he was in a completely new world. He can feels the wind blowing against his face and the grass underneath his feet. Austin must have puts endless hours on his virtual world to make everything looks so real, Gary deduced.

"Blimey! Everything looks so real! Like I'm in a whole new world!" Gary declared, as he looks around with a awestruck look on his face.

Remeku may have been in a down kind of mood but she knew that the Virtual World would make her feel better. As she entered the computer room with excitement, she sat down on a chair and carefully put the headgear on. A new world all of a sudden displayed in her vision. She looked over and saw Austin and quickly ran over to him. "Could you make me a dark elf?" Remeku said mysteriously as she jumped up and down. She loved anything science so her eyes were lit up at the amazing work that Austin had made.

-----

this will help with my fanfiction! Kirimi thought as he put the headgear on. The world changed and he saw a grassy plains standing before him. He looked over and saw people chatting to each other. "My golly...!" Kirimi took a second to process everything and became stunned at the amazing world he was standing on. He looked over and saw Remeku looking happier than before. He smiled. Rem Rem... Kirimi walked over to Remeku and then looked over to Austin. "This is amazing! I cannot believe that something like this was even humanly possible! Wow..." Kirimi smiled at Austin. "Can I be a vampire?" Kirimi asked. He was really in his fanfiction.

-----

Lumica couldn't quite keep up with what was going on. After seeing Remeku and Kirimi putting the headgear on, she did the same. AAA...!" Lumica screamed as the world suddenly changed. She calmed down and looked around her. He mouth dropped faster than her hit song, You Before Me. She looked over and saw Kirimi, and a some what... happy Remeku. She walked over to them and waved. "Hello Kirimi.... La La!" She then looked over to Autsin. "Can I be an angel?" Lumica sked with a smile.

Flo was amazed at the virtual world around her. It all felt so real. She instructed her virtual self to run across the grassy field. She felt her legs moving lighter than ever. Finally, no more being limited by stupid physics.

"I want..." she said. She saw Cat being turned into a cat. "Err, I don't really wanna be a furry. Maybe... just gimme something pretty to wear!"

"Glad to hear it! Oh, uh, Remeku's..." Jay glanced around the crowd. Noticing the trademark safety goggles and science bag, he pointed her out, "...over there if you wanna talk to her."

"A-Ah! I-I-I'm...oh, thanks." Mikael flushed a bit in embarrassment before realizing what Jay was implying, beginning to walk towards her. After Austin's speech, Mikael followed Remeku into the lab, taking the headgear from Cat. Finding a seat next to Remeku, he sat down and donned his headgear.

»»»Fwoooosh!»»»

"A-Aaaaaaaah!" Mikael screamed out, in a mix of both shock and ecstasy, as he found himself standing on top of the grassy hill. He took a moment to let the wind blow his hair around and for him to take in his surroundings.

---

Jay and Jeremy also entered the lab and retrieved their helmets. Finding two comfortable-looking recliners, they sat back in them and, once they were comfortable, put on the helmets.

»»»Fwoooosh!»»»

The world faded around Jay and Jeremy. They found themselves sitting on the grassy hill. They stood up and began to bounce towards the others, feeling the cool breeze and the green grass as they bounded along.

"Alright! We know what to do!""Alright! We know what to do!" The brothers said as they finally met up with the group. They both took out their e-Handbooks, which had accompanied them into the virtual world apparently. They turned them on and were greeted with what looked to be a title screen. Pressing the start button caused a holographic display to pop up in front of each of them. A mirror of themselves was being displayed to the side.

"Attention everyone!" Jeremy called out before he messed with anything, "It is a long story, but we have experience with this sort of thing. So, just watch us closely and follow along. Do that and you will be able to become whatever you wish without needing to burden Austin."

The brothers could see their name, age, gender, and talent already filled in.

The first choice was species. The brothers each selected 'Human' and hit 'next'. Mikael, who had finally brought up his own customization menu after watching the brothers, took a considerably longer time deciding which species to pick. He clicked on each species in the list and read their description. Not really understanding 'elements', 'strengths', and 'weaknesses' yet, he decided to choose Fae, since magical creatures were some of the most fun to voice act.

Mikael piped up. "Um, I'm on a different screen from you guys! It's asking me to pick a 'subspecies' now."

"Ah, right. Humans are just humans. Boring, old, humans, I know. But some species are much more diverse," Jay explained.

"Right, okay...w-whoa! Th-there's quite a few options..." Mikael commented. He clicked on a couple at random and began reading the descriptions, noticing out of the corner of his eye that his mirror image was being altered with each selection. He stopped on 'Nymph'. "Hm...playful, c-carefree nature spirit? W-Well, I'm n-not exactly carefree, b-but I d-do like nature!" He also liked how his character now looked, so he decided to go with that one.

"H-Huh, n-now it's asking m-me to pick an element..." There were seven choices: Non-elemental, Air, Dark, Earth, Fire, Light, and Water. Mikael selected each of them and watched the avatar's form change slightly. He settled on 'Water' and continued.

A mysterious energy began to course through him as he began to tremble. "W-Wha...? Aaaa-" He began to scream once again as he felt his form collapsing beneath him until he was just a puddle of water on the ground.

Even the brothers looked over, becoming a little concerned.

After a scarily-long moment, a figure began to rise out of the puddle. It definitely resembled the Voice Actor, but he was now pale blue-skinned and had pointed ears. His form was also a bit more...shapely. "Ehehe~!" Mikael giggled as he examined himself. "A-Ah, sorry if I scared you guys. I d-didn't expect that to h-happen. I need to take some time to g-get used to this." Mikael took a few steps, stumbling a bit as he tried to become accustomed to his new, lighter form. When he finally found his stride, he seemed to flow along the ground like water. "Ehehe...hahaha!" Mikael couldn't help laughing again, beginning to enjoy himself.

The brothers enjoyed watching Mikael so much that they decided to let some of the others catch up and play around with their new forms until they began to mess with combat-related things. That is, if Austin had even added that in yet. Jay's and Jeremy's screens did display 'Basic Customization Complete', after all. It looked like they could continue to 'Detailed Customization', but they decided to leave it for now.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a wonderful day.Credit to my niece for the original drawing of Mikael Stanza which I rendered to produce the avatar you now see!

Isaiah entered the lab and put on the headgear. Almost instantly, he awoke in the virtual world. He looked around, completely awestruck by the world around him. It was a long time before he realized the others were customizing their avatars. He nervously approached Austin. "E-Excuse me..how to we customize our avatars?"

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